Like Laurelhurst  Park, Penninsula Park is heavily used by its neighboring communities. The gardens, pool, playgrounds, and community center offer easily-accessed public amenities that help create truly livable communities. Spontaneous and organized recreational activities offer a full spectrum of options for the diverse neighborhoods that surround the park.

Purchased by the City of Portland in 1909, Peninsula Park includes the "City of Roses," the first public rose garden. The 16-acre neighborhood park in the North Portland neighborhood, which was designed by Emanuel L. Mische, is an excellent example of the landscapes generated during the “City Beautiful” movement in the early 1900s. These designs are typically quite formal and imitate qualities of well-known European gardens.

In addition to the rose garden, Peninsula Park boasts the city’s first community center and public pool, a historically designated bandstand, and Portland's second oldest playground. Basketball courts, tennis courts, a soccer field, a softball field, picnic areas, and restrooms were later added by the parks department.